Inter-liner for a safety helmet and method of assembly

Abstract

A substantially rigid dome-shaped shell encloses a deformable cap-like headpiece of uniform thickness. The headpiece conforms to the contour of the wearer's head and cooperates with the shell to define a dome-shaped cavity which is sealed around its bottom portion. The cavity is filled with an expandable plastics foam material which hardens and conforms to the contour of the headpiece. In one embodiment, spacer members are positioned within the cavity and extend from the headpiece to the shell for positioning the shell relative to the headpiece, and in another embodiment, the shell is spaced within a slightly larger outer shell by resilient energy-absorbing foam pads. In a further embodiment, separate earpiece units are contour fitted to the wearer's head with a resilient expandable plastics foam material, and a modified helmet shell is used as a holder for fitting the headpiece and earpiece units.

The invention having thus been described, the following is claimed: 
     
       1. A helmet assembly comprising a dome-shaped outer shell of substantially rigid material, a headpiece liner unit within said outer shell and including a dome-shaped inner shell of generally uniform thickness, a deformable cap-like headpiece positioned within said inner shell to define a dome-shaped cavity between said headpiece and said inner shell, said headpiece being effective to contact the wearer's head and to conform to the contour of the wearer's head over the entire area covered by said headpiece, means for securing the lower edge portion of the headpiece to the corresponding lower edge portion of the inner shell, means for introducing an expandable foam material into the cavity of said headpiece liner unit, a pair of earpiece liner units disposed within said outer shell below said headpiece liner unit, each said earpiece liner unit including a deformable earpiece material connected to a base member to define a cavity therebetween, and means for introducing an expandable foam material into the cavity of each said earpiece liner unit. 
     
     
       2. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein each said earpiece liner unit includes a resilient expanded foam material within the corresponding said cavity, and means for releasably securing each said earpiece liner unit to said outer helmet shell. 
     
     
       3. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 1 including means for releasably retaining said headpiece liner unit and each of said earpiece liner units within said outer shell. 
     
     
       4. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein said outer shell comprises a fitting shell having means providing for introducing expandable plastics foam material into said cavity within said headpiece liner unit and said cavity within each said earpiece liner unit. 
     
     
       5. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said fitting shell includes a top portion and dependable side earpiece portions, and each said portion has a hole for introducing an expandable plastics foa material. 
     
     
       6. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said deformable earpiece material comprises a formed sheet of leather, said base member comprises a formed plastics material, and said leather sheet has a peripheral portion attached to an adjacent edge portion of said base member. 
     
     
       7. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said earpiece liner units includes at least one piece of preformed resilient foam material within the corresponding said cavity for positioning said earpiece material relative to said base member. 
     
     
       8. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said deformable earpiece material of each said earpiece liner unit defines a recess, and an earcup is disposed within each said recess. 
     
     
       9. A helmet assembly comprising a dome-shaped outer shell of substantially rigid material and having a top portion and depending ear portions, a headpiece liner unit within said outer shell and including a dome-shaped inner shell of generally uniform thickness, a deformable cap-like headpiece positioned within said inner shell to define a dome-shaped cavity between said headpiece and said shell, said headpiece being effective to contact the wearer's head and to conform to the contour of the wearer's head over the entire area covered by said headpiece, means for securing the lower edge portion of the headpiece to the corresponding lower edge portion of the inner shell, a pair of earpiece liner units disposed within said ear portions of said outer shell below said headpiece liner unit, each said earpiece liner unit including means defining a cavity therein, and means defining openings within said top and ear portions of said outer shell for introducing an expandable foam material into each said cavity of said headpiece liner unit and said earpiece liner units. 
     
     
       10. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 9 including means for releasably securing said headpiece liner unit and each said earpiece liner unit within said outer helmet shell. 
     
     
       11. A helmet assembly as defined in claim 9 including a substantially rigid expanded plastics foam material within said cavity of said headpiece liner unit, and a relative resilient expanded plastics foam material within said cavity of each said earpiece liner unit.